Coalition Watching: standing up for politics

At Bristol West Labour Party website we are keeping a Coalition Watch – monitoring and reporting on the Tory-led Coalition and the impact of their policies on people in Bristol West and beyond.

This includes monitoring how our LibDem MP is doing on sticking to his promises…answers in the blog, with more to come.

There has never been a more important time to be showing that austerity is not working and that there is an alternative. My Coalition Watch blog on the economyhelps to show what Labour Party proposes to do differently, so that we are supporting people into jobs properly.

There has never been a more important time to remind everyone that contrary to what they are saying, the Tories are fond of deficits – they presided over a massive deficit for most of their 18 years last in government. They are using this decific as an excuse to push through free marketisation in public services, local authorities, health, social care, schools and anywhere else they can think of.

There has never been a more important time to be standing up loud for health and education which is for people, not profit, for the common good, not the best bottom line. The NHS reorganisation is costing us nearly £2 billion, money we could be spending on nurses, doctors and properly developing the NHS for the 21st century.

There has never been a more important time to be saying Living Wage for low income families, decent affordable childcare and investment in our transport systemare what we need, funded by taxing bankers’ bonuses and cutting down on tax evasion and avoidance.

There has never been a more important time to say that women and children are suffering disproportionately, particularly low paid or single parent women. The TUC report is a clear guide for how this is happening.

There has never been a more important time in my lifetime to be involved in politics, one way or another. This doesn’t have to be through organised political parties – although clearly I am an active part of one, it isn’t for everyone. Getting involved in the campaign to save your local park, to create safe homezones in the travel system where you live, to protect your child’s Sure Start – these are all politics. Showing your children you take their future seriously by recycling, reducing and reusing – this is politics. Getting and staying informed – this is politics. And yes, for many people, joining the Labour Party or rejoining it, is helping them to feel part of something which has alternatives to the current government. Getting out and talking to people each week, on the doorstep or phone, and then helping to shape what local parties do in the council - this is politics.

Let no-one tell you that politics is for politicians – it’s for all of us, let’s reclaim it.